SPRINGFIELD — In the wake of the historic Harris vs. Quinn ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court this week, Gov. Pat Quinn vowed to continue the fight for workers’ rights.

“There are thousands of workers who care for our seniors and people with disabilities in Illinois, and they deserve the right to collectively bargain for decent wages, benefits and proper working conditions,” Quinn said in a statement issued Monday.

“A high-quality workforce of long-term, in-home care workers gives our most vulnerable citizens the opportunity to live independently in their own homes, instead of forcing them into expensive, long-term care institutions,” Quinn’s press release stated. “All people, no matter what their challenges are, deserve the opportunity to choose to live in the community.”

But the opportunity for the vulnerable to “live in the community” and for their caretakers to earn a decent wage wasn’t the issue in the Harris case, argues Patrick Semmens, vice president for public information at the National Right to Work Foundation.

“The real solution is that the union shouldn’t have the power to create a monopoly contract for people who don’t want it,” Semmens said. “Not only should no one be forced to pay union dues, unions shouldn’t be able to have a monopoly over the many areas of work that they do. Especially in the public sector.”

Semmens said Harris vs. Quinn didn’t take away workers’ rights; rather it strengthened them by giving workers a choice.

“If a parent says ‘not only do I not want to pay union dues, I don’t want to work under union work rules,’ they should be allowed to opt out, no questions asked,” Semmens said. “Unions should be a voluntary lobbying organization that people are free to join, but doesn’t retain any special power over people who don’t want to.”

State Rep. Mike Smiddy, D-Hillsdale, didn’t see it that way and said it will put the workers who do wish to work under union representation at risk.

“Employers will more than likely try to get rid of the individuals who want to join a union, to make sure that they’re protected,” Smiddy argued. “This basically gives employers the right to fire them without cause just because their employees want to join an organized labor group.”

State Sen. Dale Righter, R-Mattoon, saw both sides of this tough issue.

“The objection to forced unionization is an understandable one,” Righter said. “But the unions will argue that federal law requires the union to fairly represent everyone in that bargaining unit, whether the workers have opted out or not. This creates a bit of a problem, if unions are required to represent everyone, but aren’t able to collect funds from everyone. I can see the problem with that as well.”

Page 2 of 2 - “However,” Righter concluded, “I don’t believe someone should be forced to be part of an organization they don’t want to be.”

Quinn said his focus will remain on ensuring workers receive the payments and benefits they deserve.

“We will continue working to provide quality care for our most vulnerable citizens, and we will continue fighting to ensure workers get a fair shake for a hard day’s work,” he said.